8/25/2007 Community Gumbo

Listen | Democracy Now (8/25/07)

• "What this Rule Change Amounts to is a Declaration of War Against the Appalachian People": Opponents of Mountaintop Removal Decry Bush's New Mining Rules
• Political Prosecution? Justice Dept Holds onto Docs in Case of Jailed Alabama Governor Siegelman
• Grace Paley 1922-2007: Acclaimed Poet and Writer Dies at 84

Listen | Disaster Capitalism: Tsunami Victims Visit New Orleans

On December 26th, 2004, a magnitude 9-plus undersea earthquake struck the Indian Ocean just west of Sumatra, triggering a series of tsunamis along landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean. The United Nations put the worldwide death toll at over 186,000, with more than 42,000 people lost. In the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, more than 10,000 people died or were lost. The long coastline of southern India was filled with fishing communities. Since the Tsunami, a flood of assistance arrived from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's). The results of the disaster recovery, however, has caused the displacement of fishing communities in favor of tourism developments on valuable beachfront properties. Alex Doscano and Michelle Baxter are two residents of the state of Tamil Nadu who are in New Orleans as part of an Action Aid exchange of disaster victims. A few weeks ago, residents of Katrina-affected New Orleans visited India. Mr. Doscano and Ms. Baxter advocate for more equitable and democratic development to empower disaster-affected populations. What they've observed in India, however, are opportunists exploiting disaster for profit.

Related:

Tsunami photos, Guardian UK.

Vijay Prashad, Disaster Capitalism, World Affairs, v. 23, iss. 18, 2006.

Naomi Klein, The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, The Nation, 5/02/2005.

Asian Development Bank, India: Tsunami Summary

Bill Quigley, "Less Meeting, More Fighting!: Lessons Learned by Grassroots Katrina and Tsunami Social Justice Activists," Common Dreams, 5/29/07.

Wikipedia, "2004 Indian Ocean earthquake."

Tsunami Affected Area of India, Maps of India.


Virginia Leavell, "Fishermen Swim Against the Tide of Disaster Capitalism," The Common Language Project, 1/22/07.

Nick Cater, "Calculating the risks from a flood of cash," Reuters AlertNet, 2005.

As donor nations pledge billions for tsunami relief, consultant and writer Nick Cater suggests local institutions should be at the centre of spending decisions, not international agencies.

Jane Perrone, "The coming age of citizen media," The Guardian UK, 12/26/05.

Randeep Ramesh, "Indian tsunami victims sold their kidneys to survive," The Guardian UK, 1/18/07.

John Vidal, "Tsunami victims still wait for promised billions," The Guardian UK, 12/20/06.

Of $6.7bn pledged, about $3.5bn has not been spent; Tens of thousands still homeless two years on.

Announcements:

Naomi Klein's celebrated posts from the front line in the war against corporate tyranny have appeared in The Nation, the Guardian UK, the L.A. Times, and many other publications. Her new book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, examines how corporate economic power exploits conflict and disaster -- natural or manufactured -- to enrich the few and disenfranchise the many by exploiting the disorientation and chaos of states of disaster.

Klein examines how the shock doctrine was used for profit in the wake of Hurricane Katrina when the Bush administration corporatized the recovery. Later, according to Klein, the dismantling of the public schools was another attempt to exploit the displaced population in order to privatize education and dismantle subsidized housing.

Naomi Klein is returning to New Orleans, this time to present her new book:

Saturday | August 25th | 6:00 p.m.
Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
7214 St. Charles Avenue, rm. 405 (fourth floor, the large lecture theater)

You can also hear a recorded Naomi Klein lecture on Democracy Now, and on WTUL's Community Gumbo.

Music Played:

Preservation Hall Jazz Band, "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans," Our New Orleans 2005, Nonesuch, 2005.

Richa Sharma, "Maahi-Ve," from the Bollywood movie, "Kal Ho Naa Ho," performed at the Tsunami Relief Concert.